Category: In the Press

“You either loved this film or hated it, there’s no in between!”

These were the words of William Tokarsky, who voiced the role of the toy gnome “Mr. Stuffy Bottoms” in Joe Badon’s surreal head trip The God Inside My Ear.

This amalgamation of comedy, horror and drama centers on Elizia, a shy woman who has a mental and emotional breakdown after being dumped by her boyfriend. Suddenly, we don’t know what’s real anymore as Elizia begins hearing voices, getting strange voice calls and experiencing cryptic visions.

Greggs had a heavy load in navigating such a wide range of emotions. One minute, Elizia is crying tears of joy because the “beauty” she finds in a horror movie sequence. The next she’s screaming her head off in fear or incredulous when the toy gnome starts talking to her (and her neighbor’s dog too, for that matter).

The narrative is loose and presented in fragmented chapters as Elizia tries all mediums (medical, psychic, psychiatrist, drugs, and friends) to cure her illness. We hear her repeatedly state she’s “broken” and can’t be fixed after the devastating loss of her boyfriend.

Ultimately, your view of this film will rest with its conclusion, where it’s implied that Elizia is the reincarnation of a nun that died several decades earlier. Her mental issues then have to be viewed as her own spiritual and psychological process of accepting death, ala Jacob’s Ladder. Her ex-boyfriend’s Jesus-like appearance adds some credence as to why the breakup was so devastating to her psyche.

For me, I found the dismissal and indifference of Elizia’s friends as the most striking aspect of this film. We continually hear them say “she’ll snap out of it” and it’s just “the breakup process.” Even in the hospital, the nurse injects her own views into the proceedings and not only does a hypnotism session, but directs Elizia to the quack psychiatrist (Satan, possibly?) who later tries to kidnap her. The constant dead ends and misdirection says a lot to how those suffering from mental illness aren’t protected and disregarded in modern society.

Shot in 13 days on a shoestring budget of $8000, The God Inside My Ear is the type of film that could very well end up being a cult favorite in several years. If you like your horror experimental, give this one a shot.

If you like to celebrate Halloween year-round, you won’t have to go farther than Little Five Points to get your next horror fix. With plenty of fake blood at the ready, Buried Alive Film Festival will keep you on the edge of your seat with five days of spooky shorts and creepy features.

The festival, which will span five days, has 36 full hours of programming, plus a special day dedicated to the festival’s first ever “Sinema Challenge.” The program schedule allows plenty of choices for horror connoisseurs, with several blocks of short films ranging from gory thrillers to supernatural horror and several feature lengths, including the world premiere of “The Night Watchman.”

“It’s a really fun, exciting movie,” Blake Myers, the festival director, said. “We’re really happy we’re the first place that’s showing that. We’re also showing bigger films that showed at South By Southwest, like ‘The Master Cleanse.’”

Buried Alive also has some one-of-a-kind surprises lined up for this year, including a presentation from a Satanist.

“Sunday at noon we’re having a film called, ‘Sympathy of the Devil: The True Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgement,’ which is a documentary about a Satanic cult and so the film is being presented by Fred from the Satanic Temple,” Myers said.

The documentary explains and debunks the conspiracy theories surrounding The Process Church of the Final Judgement, a cult that has been accused of influencing the killing of Bobby Kennedy and inspiring Charles Manson and Son of Sam, earning the group the title of “most dangerous cult in America,” according to Buried Alive’s website.

The festival will also be showing the 40-year anniversary, remastered version of Brian De Palma’s “Carrie,” complete with 1970s-style prom photoshoot and all. Fest goers can even come get their picture taken with Carrie. There will also be a zombie photoshoot for the Zombie Extravaganza.

Buried Alive is offering more than films. They’ve dipped into live entertainment, thanks to Blast Off Burlesque.

“Blast Off Burlesque are some old friends of ours,” Myers said. “They put on an amazing burlesque show, and we’re making sure they have all the fake blood they need.”

If the sight of blood doesn’t make you queasy, there will be plenty of popcorn to snack on from the Box Office. 7 Stages is also connected to Java Lords, a coffee shop and full bar so you can grab a drink and enjoy the festival.

Buried Alive Film Fest (Nov. 17–20)
While other local horror film festivals help Atlantans get in the Halloween spirit, the Buried Alive Film Fest keeps that spirit alive well into November. For its 11th year, the festival expands from two to four days and moves to 7 Stages Theatre. Though this year’s selections have yet to be announced, Buried Alive is known for featuring international and national independent shorts and features, as well as numerous locally produced films ranging from black comedy to grotesque gorefests. With two additional days of programming, this year’s festival is shaping up to be the biggest one yet.

If you made a Venn diagram for local cult movie aficionados, special-effects artists, film historians, heavy metal musicians, gonzo animators, burlesque performers, haunted house regulars, and Goths, the Buried Alive Film Festival might be at its center.

Held this year from November 13-17 at 7 Stages, the 14th annual independent film festival gives Atlanta’s loose-knit horror community a long weekend to hang out and cheer at zombies, werewolves, Satanists, and geysering gore effects.

Two films with local connections couldn’t feel more different but convey the breadth of the festival. The 16-minute short, “Budfoot,” featuring effects by Atlanta’s Shane Morton and his Silver Scream FX Lab, embraces trippy, Adult Swim-style humor about an underground toy designer bedeviled by his latest, cannabis-based action figure. Where “Budfoot” is edgy and outlandish, Mark of the Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf is lovingly respectful of classic film history. Local documentarian Daniel Griffith offers a snappily paced overview of classic werewolf movies, with an emphasis on shaggy transformation effects, from the dawn of cinema through An American Werewolf in London.

The communal aspect will be heightened at a couple of events that blend screenings with live performance. On November 15, Atlanta psychedelic jazz group Samadha will provide a live score for “The Call of Cthulhu,” Andrew Leman’s 2005 adaptation of the eponymous H.P. Lovecraft story in the style of a 1920s silent movie. The November 16 screening of 1986’s The Toxic Avenger will be preceded by a performance, inspired by the cult superhero film, from Blast-Off Burlesque.

Other local features include one of the first screenings of Those Who Deserve to Die, a thriller from Atlanta filmmaker Bret Wood inspired by Thomas De Quincey’s Confessions of an Opium Eater. Local feature “Hellbound,” shot by Ben Winston on black and white 16mm film, sends a pair of bikers on a nightmarish journey into the wilderness.

The festival’s multiple shorts programs include local films such as Josh Gould’s “Meat Wagon,” Tony Reames’ “Playtime’s Over,” Stacey Palmer’s “Toothache,” Ashley Young’s “Ouija,” and Anca Vlasan’s animated “Lizard Queen.” And the fourth annual Sinema Challenge screens results from a competition with Atlanta filmmakers given 13 days to film a short based on a horror genre and subject chosen randomly. Expect any of the Buried Alive Festival’s screenings to share a creepshow camaraderie.

Screen Time is a monthly column about film and cinematic narratives, from the big screen to streaming services.

“Hell is paved with good intentions”
– John Ray, cited as a proverb in 1670

We all know this classic aphorism and it proves true in Antrum, a delightfully cursed debut flick from co-writers and directors Michael Laicini and David Amito.

The filmmaker duo announce their intentions boldly, stating in the tagline that Antrum is “[t]he deadliest film ever made.” A wrap-around story claims that the film has resulted in the deaths of its audiences, usually via tragic accidents or unexplained medical conditions. We are told it will now be presented for the first time in its full form. In recalling a classic gimmick from the 1931 Frankenstein we’re even offered 30 seconds to leave the theatre before it’s too late.

As the 1979 film Antrum begins we see a boy experiencing a nightmare of his pet dog defending to hell for misbehaving (Warning: the film starts with a Marley & Me). His sister decides to take him to a forest with an unusual amount of suicides and they proceed to dig a hole to hell in the place where Lucifer fell from heaven. As the two descend deeper into the layers of hell, the imagery becomes a mix of Dante’s “Inferno,” Virgil’s “Aenead,” and the “Lesser Key of Solomon” for good measure. We question whether the pair are really in hell or if this is an elaborate way for the sister to help the brother grieve their dog’s passing. We meet a phantasmagorical cast of characters along the way and the story ends with an emotional haymaker that will leave you too distraught to properly assess the Adam and Eve symbolism.

An antrum in medicine is a nearly closed cavity such as the opening to the stomach. There are two antrums present here: the literal gates of hell in the 1979 filmstock and the film you are watching. Antrum’s characters have contrasting character arcs about the nature of reality with no definitive answer. Similarly, the audience is asked whether the act of observation and belief open the antrum in our world or if the film purely psychosomatically affects audiences. These questions about cursed media will captivate you after the credits roll.

With the use of 35mm the filmmakers manage convincing mimicry of 1979 film style. The cinematography utilizes the superimposition of creepy images and disorienting jump cuts familiar to the era. This technique was dabbled with in Grindhouse (2007) but Antrum approximates it with better results. The score is haunting, deploying atonal beats, weird counter melodies, and a level of ingenuity that rivals recent high-budget horror film scores. This film was clearly made on a low budget, but many practical creatures and effects find more purchase in our imagination rather than a giant CGI monster.

While its purpose is apparent, the film’s wrap-around story is its weakest element. Technical professionals over-explain elements of the cursed film reel we intrinsically understood. One of the talking-head commentators even mentions other killer films like Ringu (1998), The Ring (2002), and John Carpenter’s Cigarette Burns (Masters of Horror S 1, Ep 8, 2005). Furthermore, the wrap-around is used to justify Antrum 1979’s sudden ending that may not satisfy some horror fans.

The co-directors are no strangers to alternate reality games (ARGs), previously making the Mr. Tom series on YouTube. They have been playing this film as completely real in interviews. People will likely compare this to The Blair Witch Project (1999), but it strikes me as more reminiscent of Lake Mungo (2008). Sure, it has two people running around a forest to compensate for a minuscule budget, but it is the emotional moments and the amazing hidden frames that will disturb you to your core. Ultimately, this is a huge recommend for me. May I suggest watching it with a crowd, so you don’t die alone…?

Screened as part of the 2019 Buried Alive Film Fest